Free Cushings Tests and Insurance...a warning!

[MrsNorris]

Took advantage of a free cushings test when my horse became a bit lethargic, no other symptoms but the test was free and being heavily promoted on TV etc, so why not rule it out, I stupidly thought.
Test was done during the seasonal high and was a tiny bit over, vet said no treatment needed as no other symptoms and test not conclusive anyway.
6 months later another test was done just to see what was happening, and this one was negative.

Horse was still a bit lethargic at times, so me being a chronic worrier and prone to googling too much , I asked for a prascend trial, just to be on the safe side. Drug had no effect whatsoever after 3 months, so was discontinued.

Lethargy slowly resolved completely over the the next few months and horse is now hail and hearty, has never had laminitis, is barefoot and sound, no symptoms of anything. Vet is happy that he does not have Cushings or anything related to it.

Obviously had to inform insurance company about it all, who have now sent my renewal, excluding cushings, EMS AND laminitis, even though horse does not, and has never had, ANY of the aforementioned.

So just a little warning to everyone considering the free test, think long and hard if you have insurance...

 

[ester]

Have you discussed whether a letter from your vet might remove the exclusions?

 

[Cortez]

That's sneaky, and typical. And a good example of why I will never insure.

 

[MrsNorris]

Have you discussed whether a letter from your vet might remove the exclusions?

Yep, apparently the underwriters are saying no even with a full vet history disclosure

 

[ester]

pants . That's ridiculous.

 

[STRIKER]

Thats why i dont insure other than for public liability. Credit card and savings will pay for surgery if required

 

[Elbie]

TBH I can understand why they put the exclusion on if you called to tell them your horse was being tested. They would just have that on your notes so without receipt of any vet reports etc they would just automatically place the exclusion because of that.

However, it is wrong of them to say they won't exclude it. They only reason I can think that they wouldn't is because they are thinking your horse may be at risk of it but I don't see how they can come to that conclusion when the second test was negative and prascend trial negative.

I would ignore what the Underwriters have said. Get your vet to write a letter stating exactly what the problem was, 1st test was on x date and had x results, 2nd test x date and was negative, prascend trial on x date negative. Get him/her to state that in conclusion following all the trials in his/her opinion your horse is not and had never suffered from Cushings. Send that in to them. If they won't remove it start an offical complaint. There should be an address in your T&C booklet for making complaints

 

[Bertolie]

I have had my gelding tested twice over the past couple of years, both times negative. The tests have been disclosed to my insurance company but no exclusions have been made. I would hate for someone to not get their horse tested because they assume it will lead to insurance exclusions.

 

[mjcssjw2]

Oh the joys of insurance, although to be fair you did keep pushing the matter, so you must have had some concerns.
Its still a pain though.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Since I stopped insuring my horses (other than public liability) the sense of freedom has been immense. I'm in control of my horses veterinary needs without being mindful of how an insurer will respond.
I also get better value for money and I think the horses get better treatment because the formula of different diagnostic tests is specific to them. Last two times vets have mentioned doing an MRI, I asked what difference would diagnosis make to how we're treating this -and the answer was, none.
MRI's can be invaluable, but only if it makes a difference to the outcome.

 

[mjcssjw2]

Bertolie, that is the problem, they do risk us ignoring some symptoms so that we do not have to tell the insurance.
I had one visit many moons ago for mareish behaviour, my mare was being a little odd, vet came said she was absolutely fine and to just carry on - how much trouble did that one visit cause!! never again

 

[MrsNorris]

Oh the joys of insurance, although to be fair you did keep pushing the matter, so you must have had some concerns.
Its still a pain though.

Yeah, just the lethargy, but there can be so many causes of that, I just wanted to be certain about the cushings as I have read of quite a few cases where horses have improved on prascend even when testing borderline/negative (google again *sigh*), so wanted to be certain that he wasn't one of them.

The lethargy just spontaneously disappeared over time, and he's never had laminitis or any other symptom, think I will just put the money in the bank from now on and try to stop worrying about every little thing!

 

[mjcssjw2]

mmm, they are a worry, i just have third party liabilities now, so i can make a judgement call on what to treat or not, without worrying about the consequences.

 

[EventingMum]

I had a similar situation with one of ours. He was being checked out due to being a little off colour but nothing we could pinpoint. As part of the investigations he was scoped for ulcers and the vets actually called some students in and said you will rarely see such a healthy looking scope. In the end all that was found was polydypsia which was easily sorted by added extra salt to his diet. However my insurance then excluded all gastro - intestinal conditions - on a horse with a clear scope who has not showed the slightest sign of colic in the previous 10 years. All the vets involved were horrified and after several reports from them the exclusion was removed.